The Wonderful Misadventures of Heroes
by Writer Frantic
Summary: A little collection of one shots from the flash game Heroes of the Realm.
1. A Minor Incident at the Guild

A Minor Incident at the Guild

The guild NobleHearts was one of the biggest in the realm. Based in the Kingdom of Kiriti, specifically the capital Klaus, there was no doubt as to their power when it came to attracting warriors all over to join the organization. And of course, such a giant guild must be justified by having a massive central office. Apart from the castle itself, the building was the biggest in the entire town, made with smooth stone bricks and orange ceramic roof plating. The statue of the famous Guild Eagle was outside, as well as a banner emboldened with the NobleHearts logo: a red background with a heart stitched in golden threads that had a silver sword weaving in and out within the center.

Outside the main entrance inside were two individuals. Judging from their gear, they were warriors. One was a black hair man, with a long black and red trench coat but with a silver blue chest piece and gauntlets over the fine cloth as well as a steel halberd is strapped to his back. His hair was slightly longer than what most would consider masculine and start going borderline feminine, but he didn't seem to mind. The other individual was a brunette with a black cloak as well, but this time, the collar had an intricate web of silver support strands reaching all the way to her mid back region and wolf fur lined the fluttering edges of the cloak. Possibly the most noticeable feature though, was her sharply pointed pale ears sticking out of the silky hair strands. A brionac, a spear with a thicker head than normal, was in her right hand as she complained about the situation.

"Aw, why can't I go inside?" The woman whined, placing a gloved fist on her waist as she glared at her partner. Her fingers tapped against the handle of her spear impatiently, occasionally letting it spin around on its bottom as the owner glared at her friend in frustration. This was ridiculous. Months of working together and still these stupid rules applied? "Won't they let a friend of a member in?"

"Sorry Ailea, guild rules." The man shook his head, crossing his arms. His halberd strapped to his back slightly moved as he motioned to the door to the large building, pointing at the rule board pasted to the entrance. "You know that very well. I'm not allowed to go into your guild either, so it's not really unfair."

"Oh c'mon Erik! I want to see what's inside NobleHearts!" Ailea protested, waving her spear's top around. "I bet it's all cool! It's gotta be at least on par with Blizzard's stuff!"

"Well, I haven't been inside Blizzard, so I can't really compare either." Erik sighed, rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he turned around and glanced up and down the street. "Well, I suppose you could do our errands while I pick up a new job, maybe pay a visit to the blacksmith-"

Behind him, the guild's door opened with a massive smash as a black hair man in heavy armor slammed through it, the wooden entrance cracking under the force. Ailea flinched from the sound of brittle wood snapping and turned around with wide eyes, while Erik simply sighed at the common occurrence. He knew who it was.

The guild member also sighed as he turned to examine the broken door, muttering to himself about shoddy work quality as his hands roughly shoved, wedging the hinges back on in a rather haphazard way. He nodded, satisfied with the temporary solution before turning to notice a gaping Ailea. "Hello. How can I help you?" He asked with a rather puzzled, yet friendly tone.

"Oh…um…" Ailea stuttered, trying to remember her manners as she stared at the giant of a man. To be honest, it was really the giant armor that added to his overall size, but still! Her spear slightly shook in her hand as she leaned on it from shock of seeing this giant. "I…um…on my way…"

"Settle down Ailea." Her traveling companion turned and placed a hand on her shaking wrist, squeezing it assuredly as he looked up at the giant of a man. "Hey Chas."

"Erik!" The man in armor grinned, extending an armored hand and shaking the smaller man's hand vigorously. "Welcome back! I assume that your job went well?"

"As good as it could get." Erik slightly winced as his fingers were only just slightly crushed by the force behind the handshake, but shook it off and instead gestured to his traveling friend. "This is Ailea. I don't think you've met her before. Oh, and Ailea, this is Chasdom."

"Ailea?" His eyebrows scrunched for a second as Chas thought, and then realization dawned in his eyes. "Oh! I know you! Dekkar mentioned you often."

"Dek?" Her voice was still slightly quivering, but it stabilized as she drew upon her spirit. "Um, do you know Dekkar?"

"Know him?" At this, Chas threw back his head and gave a loud and hearty laugh. "My dear, I use to work with him! Even now, he and I are still good friends. Any friend of Dekkar is a friend of mine!"

"Ok-kay." Ailea shook her head as she cleared up whatever fears she had from seeing this behemoth man and stood up straight, spear firmly in her hand. "Well, as you know, I'm Ailea. Do you mind if I come inside?"

"Inside? Inside NobleHearts you mean?" Chasdom asked with a rather amused voice. "What's stopping you from doing so?"

"The rules. Erik says that we have to follow them!"

"Oh, ignore them. You're a friend, so you can come and go as please. And Erik, stop being such a stickler for things!"

"Understood guild master." He didn't even bother to hide his rolling eyes as Chas chuckled, the man ducking back into the guild office. "Well, there you go. You can come in, thanks to Chasdom's permission."

The girl with a fur coat blinked as something just registered in her mind. "Wait…what did you just call him? Guild…master?"

"Of course. Chasdom is the leader of NobleHearts, the most powerful guild in all of Kriti."

O O O

Inside, the guild office wasn't anything that Ailea had thought. Having traveled with Erik for months, she would've thought it was a somewhat professional guild, filled with professional warriors training nonstop. It would explain his proficient skill range despite being only a junior officer of the guild.

However, NobleHearts was a bar. Plain and simple. The woman from another kingdom looked in wonder at the rowdy and yet happy atmosphere that was inside the well-lit central room. There were several tables scattered around, filled with various bands of warriors drinking, eating, telling tales of monster slaying or coliseum fights. It was all so familiar and comforting, almost like her real guild Blizzard!

Erik was already moving away and talking to an official looking man sitting in a corner, taking out a money bag and counting coins. Guild membership always had a fee associated with it, but was well worth it as you get to use facilities all around the world under the banner. Some complained that NobleHearts' fees were a little high, but many within the guild simply shrug and pay up without much complaints. Perhaps this contributed to the rapid rise of NobleHearts.

Regardless, Ailea was awed by the guild's inside. After placing her weapon on the weapon rack right next to the door, the pointy ear girl began wandering around, looking at all the various billboards posted with job offers scattered throughout the room. "Wow…Blizzard doesn't get nearly this many offers!" She remarked with awe in her voice. "A lot of people must have faith in this guild!"

"_Oui_ _mademoiselle._ There are benefits of being _une_ in Kiriti."

Ailea blinked and turned around to face whoever was addressing her. Sitting next to a wooden table piled high with books was a lady in shocking white hair. She was sitting with a leg bent over her thighs, leaning back as she flipped through the book quickly. Her outfitted consisted of black wizard robes, neatly woven in with various pieces of armor attached to her shoulder and waist as they hug her body tightly, showing off various curves. Her startling blue eyes glanced up to see the guild's guest starting at her, and the white hair woman gave a gentle smile "_Bonjour._ Your name?"

"Um, Ailea of Blizzard."

Upon hearing this, the mage blinked and slammed her book shut with a casual flip of the wrist. "Ailea? _Quelle Surprise!_ We have a guest Kara!"

"_Wirklich?_" Behind the massive stack of books, a man with blond hair and wearing silver plated armor poked his head around, seeing Ailea for the first time. "Ah, _hallo Fraulein!_ Who are you?"

"This is Ailea." The mage introduced, leaning forwards and carefully examining the newcomer's face. "_Oui_, she does look to be the type Dekkar likes."

"Dek?" At the name, Ailea perked up, ears slightly tilting upwards in surprise. "Wow, a lot more people know about Dekkar than I thought!"

"How could they not? Additionally, word is that your relationship with him is…legendary." The man in armor smiled, standing up and extending a hand. "I am _Herr Karadoras. _This is _Fraulein Selesnia_."

"Karadoras? Selesnia?" The brunette immediately recognized those names and gasped, excitedly taking the man's hand and shaking it up and down. "Oh! You're the lovers of NobleHearts!"

"Oh, is that what they call us in Blizzard? _Mince alors!_" Selesnia laughed, waving a hand in the air as if trying to clear the embarrassing title from the talk. "Perhaps our relationship is as famous as Dekkar and you, but _ca ne fait rein_! We haven't seen him in weeks."

"_Fraulein_, have you heard anything about Dekkar?" Karadoras asked eagerly, crossing his arms and leaning forwards. "Perhaps you know better than us where he is."

At the question, Ailea fell silent and looked down at the floor, bangs shadowing her eyes in darkness. After a brief moment, she slowly shook her head and the two guild members immediately knew that Dekkar's location was a touchy subject. Karadoras and Selesnia looked at each other in awkward silence as they tried to figure out what to say. "So…_Herr _Erik is taking care of you?" The blond man cautiously asked.

"Yeah. He's doing a good job I guess." Without even bothering to ask, Ailea took a seat at the table and placed her head in her arms, hiding her face. A few of the tomes that Selesnia was reading were knocked off by the sudden movement, but the white hair woman didn't mind as she leaned over and patted Ailea's shoulder. Eventually, Ailea looked up and sighed, trying so hard to hide the red rimmed eyes. "I'm sorry…I miss him so much."

"_Je suis desolee._"

"_Ich bitte sie._"

The two chimed their apologies and Ailea gave a weak smile as she looked at them. "Thank you," She managed to say as she rubbed her fur topped sleeve around her eyes "I…I hope that he'll make it back soon. And safely."

Before either of the NobleHearts' lovers could add to that, all of Selesnia's books were shoved to the floor as somebody drunkenly staggered onto their table and collapsed on top of it. The mage's eye twitched as she watched her precious collection of texts get soiled by the stench of beer, and she shoved the drunk off the table. "_Merde!_ You-!"

"'ey baby!" The drunk unfortunately wasn't even unconscious as he staggered upwards and threw an arm over Selesnia's neck. "What say you and me go…ugh…have a few drinks?"

If Selesnia looked pissed, Karadoras was about to pop an artery. His hand tried to grasp for the handle of a sword that wasn't there, and his face was bright red with anger. However, before either of the two could react, Ailea spoke out with a rather angry tone. "Hey, why don't you go bother somebody else?"

"Huh?" The drunk turned and saw the pointy ear woman glaring pointedly at him. "And…who are you supposed to be princess? A pointy ear mongrel?" He asked with a slurred voice.

"That's none of your business!" She shouted, slamming a hand on the table and making it wobble. Both Karadoras and Selesnia flinched as they saw wooden cracks appearing where Ailea slammed her palm on. "Back in Blizzard, Dekkar would take care of drunks like you in no time-"

"Dekkar?" The messy man laughed and wiped his beer covered mouth with his sleeve, all the while an arm around Selesnia. "You mean that guy who went to Epirops? The unknown lands? He probably got himself killed-"

At this, Ailea could not restrain herself anymore and lunged out from her chair, a solid fist slamming into the man's cheek. The blow knocked the drunk backwards and he toppled to the floor with a crash. However, it seemed to not have knocked him out as he stumbled back onto his feet with much difficulty. Some blood trickled out of his mouth as the offending man looked at Ailea with malice. "You'll pay for that!" He screeched, lunging forwards-

And being grabbed midair by a heavily armored hand, the man shouting as he was swung around to face the grinning face of NobleHearts' leader. "Well, well," Chasdom chuckled, a glint in his eyes. "What do we have here? I don't believe you're a guild member."

"He isn't." Erik slipped up behind the giant of a man and handed over what looked to be a wallet. "Look what I found."

"Hey, where did you get that?!"

"When you were stumbling over to Selesnia." The long black hair man opened up the small container and pulled out an ID card, smiling sadistically as he held it up. "Ah. Guildless. Just what I thought."

"Well then, you know what we do to intruders!" Chasdom bellowed and hoisted the man up, invoking a shriek from the drunk as the guild leader dragged him to the doors and kicked them clean off. With a roar, the black hair man in heavy pulled back and then threw forwards the parasitic man from the guild, somehow raising his foot in time to add a well-time kick to the drunk's bottom. "AND STAY OUT!"

"And this, Ailea, is why we don't usually let outsiders into our guilds." Erik sighed, gesturing to the cracks that were created by the woman's abnormally strong fist. Already, people were eyeing the duo, particularly noticing the long and pointed ears that Ailea bore. However, a pointed glare from their guild mate discouraged any further staring. "Let's go. Our next job is a bit ways off."


	2. Testing a Lover

**NOTE: This was submitted to me by Karadoras. I have edited and reworked it into the following piece. Thank you.**

Testing a Lover

The bar was surprisingly calm despite being the natural nature of such drinking places. Alcohol was prevalent, but yet, there wasn"t any drunken singing, acts of lewd disgrace, or even drunks slumbering on the counter top. It would seem that the mere presence of warriors nearby discourages excessive drinking. Well, of course, there are a few incidents. And those are widely talked about.

Two men, warriors judging from their well-worn armor, were prime examples of this gossip that flies around the guild's bar. One of them took a long drink of his mug, swallowing deeply before beginning the rumors. "Did you hear? Someone snuck into NobleHearts without a membership. The guy got really drunk at the bar, to the point where he threw his arm around Selesnia!"

"Really?" His drinking companion's eyes widened from surprise, but it was quickly masked by a quick draught of his drink. "That man must have had a death wish! Even I wouldn't try that."

"Oh yeah, I heard Chasdom threw his ass out of the guild with a well-timed kick as well." Taking a break from his tale, the man sipped at his beverage and then leaned in, glancing both ways as he told the final part. "But I think Karadoras was still furious afterwards, and I'm willing to bet he still is!"

"Understandable." By now, the conversation had reached a point in which both of them were practically whispering. "Wouldn't you get mad as well if someone touched your woman for no reason but a poor one?

"Aye. I believe Karadoras has now gone into Chasdom"s chambers to talk to him about it!"

While the two continued swapping rumors and gossiping (a highly un-warrior like action in her eyes), Selesnia remained silent in a corner of the room. She was staring at a book with such a focused gaze, one was sure she was reading it. But in reality, the white hair mage had already read this paragraph 30 minutes ago. She was instead listening in on what people were saying about the drunk from the outside.

And she heard every word of that conversation.

O O O

All guild buildings had a set of rooms for warrior members to rest in, another bonus benefit from having guild membership. However, in the main guild office, there was also a set of rooms set aside for the guild master's exclusive use, ensuring they always had a place to stay regardless of the circumstances.

Chasdom's quarters were plain and simple, a Spartan style. There was very little that deviated or suggested that the leader of NobleHearts had a heart of luxury, though there were a few trinkets here and there from his adventures. But for now, the main concern is the two men in armor arguing with each other in the main living room. Both were standing but thankfully had no weapons within reach, else it could get ugly.

Karadoras, the blond man in white armor, had a red face that spoke tomes of rage as he shouted, "Chasdom, why did you just kick him out?! I would have liked to teach him a lesson about touching Selesnia!"

Chasdom, the black hair man in silver blue armor, merely sighed and shook his head in disagreement. "We need to keep the peace. Even if he isn't a member of the guild, I have no authority to punish him for his actions outside of banning him from the guild."

"But he touched Selesnia!" He spat, shaking as he tried to reach for a sword that was thankfully in the storage armor rack next to the guild's entrance. "Do I not have right to be angry?! To show my rage?! He needs to be properly disciplined!"

"And let you wreck our entire guild building again? I would rather not have to deal with that again!"

At this, Karadoras let out a feral scream and back slammed his fist into a nearby wall, bricks cracking under his strength. "Damn you and your peaceful mind! You would rob me of a chance to avenge my honor as a lover?!"

"If you have something to let loose, just do so if need be." Chasdom didn't even seem to be perturbed in the slightest about the rage exhibited by his guild member. Instead, the man just crossed his arms and sighed. "Or, if you need to express that infamous rage of yours, go fight some monsters. Maybe that'll cool you off."

Some part of this message registered with the blond swordsman and he turned around, leaving his guild master's room with a loud door slam, almost blowing it off its hinges. Karadoras growled at everyone who he passed by, causing them to flinch in surprise at the usually well-mannered warrior practically glowing in rage. He barked at those who got accidentally stumbled in his path, his guttural voice punctuating the command as they scrambled and preyed not to be on the receiving end of his infamous Sword Slash.

Already, something in Selesnia's gut stirred up the minute she saw her love angrily enter the main hall of the guild out of the corner of her eye. His demeanor was…unsettling. However, she kept calm and collected, looking up from her book only when Karadoras' shadow loomed over her book and his booming voice spoke out.

"Selesnia _stop met lezen, we gaan._" The warrior all but demanded.

The mage raised an eyebrow and looked at Karadoras straight in his eyes. "_Ik was net zo lekker aan het lezen, nu ben ik kwijt waar ik was_," She retorted. "_Waar gaan we naar toe en waarom moet ik mee?"_

Karadoras threw up his hands and turned with an angry huff. "_Goed, blijf maar hier, lees je boek, het kan me niet meer schelen, ik ben weg!_"

With a loud kick, Karadoras broke the guild's door down and stomped out, barely remembering to grab his broadsword on his way out. Everybody in the guild stared as they watched the normally calm and easygoing warrior exit the main hall, immediately breaking into whispers of rumor and gossip despite Selesnia's presence. The mage didn't appear to care, turning back to her book with what looked to be complete apathy to her lover's plight.

Nobody saw her wet cheeks.

O O O

"Ailea, how many gems do we have?" Erik asked, his voice slightly weary after a long day of shopping. He had been haggling all day over prices of various items, such as rare weapons and armor that the two travelling warriors had accumulated over their travels.

"Um…" The girl with long pointed ears glanced in her equipment bag carrier and frowned, shaking it around a bit. The magical equipment bags that all warriors carriers were useful in the way that they could hold an incredible number of items regardless of size, but still weigh as if it was simply a basic gem. It was sometimes boggling to see someone reach into this rather small bag, feel about a bit, and then yank out an armor piece that easily weighed a ton. "We've got enough wind gems for maybe a rank eight gem I think?"

"Well, you know the drill. Head over to the blacksmith and hone your skills at upgrades."

"What, why me?"

"Because I know you hate it. You need to get better at forging gems anyway, so I might as well torture you and help you at the same time."

"You are literally the worst teacher ever," Ailea grumbled, throwing the bag over her shoulder and walking down the street in a rather huffy manner. Erik watched her shuffle into the nearby forge and talk with the shopkeeper, the conversation out of his hearing but he could already tell that Ailea was still falling for the guy's haggling trick. The warrior sighed and moved to help her, but then something caught his eye as a friend stomped down the street behind.

It was Karadoras. He looked be in a very foul mood as a particular aura glowed around his sheathed weapon, indicating that there was power yearning to be unleashed on some unfortunate monster. "Karadoras?" The black haired man called out, moving quickly to match his friend's rapid pace. "You alright? What's the matter?"

To his surprise, the blond man didn't even bother to respond as he continued to stride off, stuck in his own rage filled world. Erik was forced to stop as he had to catch his breath, unable to match the pace of Karadoras' rage filled body. His body bent over as Erik tried to gasp for breath, looking up just in time to catch Karadoras heading to the general direction of the city portals. Dammit, his body was built to be an assassin, not a frontline warrior-!

"Erik?" Ailea appeared, holding her equipment bag in one hand and a rather small wind gem in her other. Her face was streaked with soot marks, and her hair was singed in a lot of places. One strand was even still smoking. "Um, I failed most of them…I managed to make a rank six gem only…"

"Never mind that!" The man gasped, gesturing wildly. "Go, head to NobleHearts! Karadoras is going off alone into the portals!"

O O O

After practically barging through the protesting guards of the portals, Karadoras allowed the purple glow of the elite portal to wash over him as he focused on a certain area. He had already quickly checked and there would be no one in the region that would get in the way of the impending mayhem and destruction. With a glow, the armored body vanished and transformed into a beam of purple light, shooting up into the clouds as the city guards looked on in dismay at the blatant violation of safety rules.

Outside an area known as the Moving Forest, the desert entrance was filled with monsters. Starving wolves prowled around, seeking for any scraps of meat while mutant mushrooms patrolled the area, their orders given by a higher being. The monsters all looked on with wariness as a purple pillar of light beamed down from the skies above, revealing an angry Karadoras as the light dissipated. Without even hesitating, the blond drew his massive broadsword out of its sheath and tossed the leather cover to the side, grabbing the hilt tightly as he finally found an outing of his bloodlust.

The wolves attacked and the mushrooms charged, but without even looking at them, Karadoras swung his sword horizontally and caught them all, slicing entire bodies in half with almost no effort. The blade sang as blood coated its pure silver face, the entire weapon quivering as power surged through it. Karadoras was normally a calm and friendly face; but underneath was a true warrior of the realm, his power matched by very few when it came to his broadsword.

Without even bothering to look at the bloody mess he had just soiled the desert sands with, the blond moved on, still glowing with rage as Karadoras stomped onwards. He didn't even bother to look back at the blinding pillar of purple light that shortly appeared just as the swordsman entered the swaying trees, the NobleHearts man far too engrossed in his anger to care about the trail he left behind. There was blood to be spilt!

The second wave of monsters that assaulted him consisted of plant life and wolves, all of them intent on protecting this mana infused forest. Purple and blue sparks flew from their bodies as the magical energy within formed a barrier around them, an anti-mage precaution in case anybody wanted to drain this precious gift of magic from the forest. However, Karadoras was not interested in mana, nor was he a mage. A might swing of his sword sent them all flying back to the trees from whence they came, blood splattering across the bark as the blond shouted in frustration.

Why? Why doesn't anybody understand?! His pain is something born out of love, not something out of spite! Could nobody at least give him the basic rights that came with having a love of his life? Was his pride essentially meaningless?!

Something rustled in the trees behind Karadoras and the man swung his broadsword completely around, his body moving with the force that was placed behind the strike. However, as the blade felt only empty air where something should've been, something snaked around his ankles and pulled. The warrior was knocked off balance by the sudden attack but remained upright through careful footing, something that may have been a mistake as something stabbed into his chest.

Luckily, the chest piece he had absorbed most of the damage and Karadoras got off with only minor prick in his front side. He looked upwards, practically face to face with a wooden stick in his face as his free hand grabbed and snapped the flimsy spear out of his chest, the fingers crushing the wood just by exerting pressure. A loud cracking noise was heard as his assailant moved and the warrior skipped back, swinging his sword wildly as the sharpened metal clanged uselessly against a shield of sorts. Karadroas' mind managed to clear up enough to realize that he may have just gotten into a bit of trouble as he stepped back to examine his enemies.

Lanky trees that had been previously still were now moving, beady eyes appearing as large shields made of thick bark appear in their hands/branches. The forest magic must be bringing them to life to defend itself! But they were just shield bearers- surely, they stood no chance!

Then the fairies appeared. Abnormally larger than normal pixies thanks to the mana flow, they were pale and frail but had faces that could rival that of Selesnia's when a book was burned. Frail looking spears were gripped tightly in their webbed hands, but the swordsman had no doubt that they were stronger than they appeared, the previous stab testifying to that fact. There was a popular rumor that these weapons had been taken from warriors these fairies had killed before, but Karadoras could not care about that.

Rather, he gripped his sword harder and rotated his shoulders in anticipation. The combined alliance of trees and fairies were lining up in a defensive line, no doubt meant to keep Karadoras out of going further into the forest. And yet, he would not be denied the ecstasy that came with bloodshed! With a might roar, the blond ran in, bringing his heavy weapon back in preparation for his legendary Heavy Slash.

Several branches from the ents sprung out and grabbed the charging man's chest piece, yanking him forwards into the shields that the trees bore. As the organic material slammed against the manmade chest piece, the fairies' spears rose up and over the trees and darted in, striking Karadoras in his chest. They made small but surprisingly deep stabs, giving the warrior multiple cuts across the chainmail he wore underneath. The blond barked in anger as he shook himself out of the stunned state and swung his sword, the wood cracking under the force as the enemy line was forced backwards from the sheer bloody power.

But they reformed and again the spears darted out. This time, Karadoras' sword swung up to meet them, chopping off the heads of the flimsy weapons as he staggered backwards, finally out of the range of them as he took a breather. The trees seemed to chitter as they watched their enemy slip out of their ally's grasp, and the warrior's eyes widened as the branches again grabbed and pulled him in, back into the spike ball that was the tree and fairy defensive line.

A metal edge scraped against the man's cheek, leaving a red smear as he frantically tried to pull back from the branches, swinging his sword right and left in desperation. The rage that had consumed him beforehand had now transformed into dread realization as Karadoras realized the extent of danger he was in now. Moving Forest was a restricted zone for a reason! There existed too many monsters that a single person could take on foolishly, and now, the blond was on the verge of becoming of those fools.

That is, until the fairies shrieked with pain and splatters of blood splashed on the back of the trees. "Kara! Hold still!" A familiar voice shouted, and immediately the warrior stopped struggling. A heartbeat later, there was a flash of green as something somersaulted over the trees and slashed, cutting away the branches with deadly precision. Karadoras was let go and fell backwards, holding onto his broadsword and scrambling back onto his feet with a back roll as his savior landed next to him. "I'm glad to have caught up with you at last!"

"Erik!" The swordsman bellowed with satisfaction, raising his free hand. The assassin grinned and took a hand off his halberd's handle for a second to bump wrists before refocusing on the recovering enemy line. His dark eyes narrowed as the two guild members nodded to each other, understanding in a heartbeat what to do before dashing towards their foes.

Branches extended out to grab the two, but this time, Karadoras was prepared, swinging his blade back and forth to hack at the offending limbs. Erik, however, disappeared in a blink of an eye as his friend's blade flashed over his form. A few seconds later, one of the trees began screeching as the head of a halberd erupted from its back, having been stuck directly underneath its' "chin" by the assassin as he pushed. With a yank and a kick, the weapon was pulled out and the tree fell lifeless to the ground, its organic shields useless in death.

The other ents were promptly startled by their enemy's sudden breach of the line and turned to face him. Bad move. With a savage roar, Karadoras swung his blade at their exposed sides and sent a good portion of the line flying through the air, splinters flying everywhere as both shields and bodies broke under the strike. He wasn't done though, and continued hacking at the panicking shield bearers.

Erik, on the other hand, was causing chaos among the fairy spearmen. He darted in and out of sight, his weapon a green blur as they slashed between the winged mutants of nature. The fairies tried all too hard to fixate on their foe, but the man was far too swift!

Karadoras shouted in triumph as the last of the ents reeled away from him, raising his broadsword over his head with a shout. He turned to Erik to let his friend of the victory, but a glowing green sight caught his eyes. One by one, the fairies' eyes turned from a violet to neon green color. Were those…detecting eyes? Was the forest mana changing?! "ERIK!"

"I know, we're winning!" The man shouted with obvious smugness in his voice, oblivious to the fact that his enemy was learning until it was too late. He disappeared from visible sight with a flash of his coat, but this time, one of the fairies seemed screech in glee as its spear stabbed at thing air. Only it wasn't actually air.

With a gargle of surprise, the black haired man appeared out of his stealth, taken entirely by surprise by the sudden hit. Of course, having a metal spearhead stuck in one's exposed neck area wasn't exactly a pleasant sensation either. Erik gasped and swung wildly with a single hand on his weapon, the other limb busy gripping the wound as he broke the spear shaft. But that wasn't enough, and Karadoras could see red rapidly dripping onto the assassin's limited armor. The sight of his friend in danger was more than enough to send him on another rage filled fury.

His sword was relentless as the blond attacked the fairies, bodies and heads being separated from each other as he slammed into the group, sending them scattering. The ferocity of his attack caused the monsters to hesitate for a critical second, giving Karadoras enough time to push his way to the center of the group and to his wounded friend. Erik looked up as the swordsman cleared a wide circle around them, obviously trying his best to keep them away. But, the assassin spotted their impending doom: the ents had regrouped.

Suddenly, Karadoras' Heavy Slash became significantly less effective as a tough shield wall was formed around the two humans. His swings began to slow and lose power and eventually, the two were practically on one knee as exhaustion/blood loss took over. Erik's vision was flickering between darkness and dull light as he leaned on his halberd while Karadoras was trying all so hard to ignore the blood trickling down the chainmail he wore underneath. His body may be battered, the warrior thought as he gripped his sword's hilt tighter, but as long as he still had some breath in him, these monsters would never strike down his soul!

An image of Selesnia flashed through his mind and the man made a heavy smile, knowing that the last words he said to her were harsh and bitter ones. Perhaps…if there truly was a God…he would let her hear these final words. "_Vaarwel mijn geliefde' denk ik de betere zit_," Karadoras whispered, closing his eyes as he prepared for a final outburst.

"_Zeg het zelf recht in mijn gezicht!_" An all too familiar voice cried out, and the warrior's eyes sprang open as his head whipped around in shock. And even then, he was too slow to catch his lover's face before her fury unleashed upon the monsters that dare threatened Karadoras.

Screams and explosions were heard as the numerous trees and fairies went flying, some badly burned beyond recognition as they soared in the air. The scent of burning flesh quickly became prevalent as embers flickered as they sailed through the air, flickering and dying as they were swept away by the next explosion of magic. The two warriors looked up to see their savior, the one and only Selesnia.

The white haired woman dressed in simple dark mage robes had a look on her face that could only be described as a pissed lover. In one of her hands was an open book, its pages rifling through rapidly without any pause as holographic words floated from the ink, floating in the air and glowing. Her other hand was engulfed in a red aura of flames, hovering over the fast turning book as power condensed in that single extremity. "Move!" She shouted, whirling completely around and throwing her hand out, book snapping shut as the woman's eyes narrowed.

Karadoras knew enough about her to recognize the move immediately. He roughly grabbed Erik by the chest and tackled to the ground, both of them barely dodging out of the way as Selesnia's spell was cast. Where the two once were, a succession of three massive explosion rocketed a straight line through the enemy, catapulting bodies into the air from the sheer force of the magical power.

However, there still were too many. In fact, some of the fairies managed to regain their sense of danger and charged the newcomer, spears lowered as they threatened to impale Selesnia. The mage didn't even flinch or change expression as she looked at them, charging up another True Magic spell with hardly any care given to these mutants of nature. Besides, they could easily be dispatched by somebody else.

Speaking of whom, a dark blur somersaulted over Selesnia and, with a green flash, swatted away her attackers with a swing of her weapon. "Erik!" Ailea shouted, taking her eyes off the charging group of trees and waving with a hand. "I've brought help!"

"Good!" Erik barked, heavily leaning on his halberd as he slowly got up, aided by Karadoras. "Now, keep your eyes on the bloody spear!"

"Joykiller," She muttered, refocusing her attention and twirling her brionac with a deft motion of her fingers. With a shout, the brunette began to push forwards, swinging her weapon side to side as they knocked over trees and fairies alike. Karadoras was shocked to see her matching his own strength easily, slashing and hacking apart monsters as if they were just straw dummies. Who was this woman…?

So engrossed he was in Ailea's fight, the warrior didn't even see the fairy sneaking up on him until he felt something jab into his back. With a grunt, Karadoras whipped around and backhanded the offending monster, his armored fist all but shattering the poor creature's jaw as it was flung away. Yet, there were more trying to finish the job! Ignoring the pain his body shrieked as he got up, the blond took up his sword again and prepared for yet another bloody brawl.

And yet, he would be denied of this. A large figure in armor bounded in front of him and shoulder slammed into the trees, shattering their shields and cracking bark. A moment of hesitation later, spears were being thrown at this interruption but they all bounced off the man's armor as if they were simply rocks being thrown against a solid brick wall. With a loud laugh, the man swung a giant axe and bodies were sent flying. "Is this the best you can do?!"

"Chasdom?!" Karadoras exclaimed and his guild leader turned to grin. Without even looking, the man's hand shot out and grabbed a thrown spear to his head, snapping the handle with a "gentle" squeeze. "What…what are you doing here?"

"Saving you, of course!" He exclaimed, but then a mischievous grin touched his lips. "Though, I think that at the rate people are arriving, we may as well go for broke and even kill the Maestro Tree."

"What…?" Karadoras turned and, eyes ever widening, saw the NobleHearts banners fluttering just over the trees as more and more warriors, archers, mages, all came charging out of the trees with ecstatic battle cries as their weapons glowed with auras. It looks as though a small army had arrived in the Moving Forest, fighting against the mutants in which this forest created. "The entire guild came?! Oh, I'm so sorry for troubling you all!"

"Then don't that again you idiot!" Even though the blond warrior was wounded, he received no mercy at the hands of Selesnia as the spine of her mage tome smacked against his head. "What on earth made you think that you could take this place on alone?!"

Karadoras flinched, but shook his head and got up from his kneeling position. His full height easily overtook Selesnia's, but even then he looked embarrassed. "I…apologize. My mind was addled and clouded. It will not happen again, I promise you that."

The mage huffed and hefted her book again, this time tapping it against the man's cheek with some force. It wasn't enough to actually pain him in anyway, but it did cause Karadoras to flinch again from the touch. "You better not! If I….if I had lost you…" Her voice trailed off now, and a noticeable choking noise was heard as Selesnia turned away and tried to contain her feelings.

Erik seemed to understand though, and staggered onto his feet, drawing attention to himself to interrupt the conversation. "That's all nice and dandy and all, but if you don't mind, I need a medic," The assassin declared, still pressing his palm against the spear wound in his neck area.

"Of course, here." Chasdom slipped his armored arm under Erik's shoulder and helped the man limp, the two warriors leaving the swordsman and the mage alone to talk. Karadoras silently thanked the gods above that everyone else was too busy fighting the monsters to care about their two Archduke and Archduchess staring at each other.

"Well…I guess we should go." Selesnia voice was steady and neutral as she looked away from her lover. "The others will need us to kill the Maestro Tree."

"That sounds right," Karadoras agreed, raising his blade. "Let's get to it and then we can all head home safely-"

At "home," the white haired woman just snapped and whirled around, striding towards the warrior without hesitation. The blond man braced himself for yet another smack with her book, but there was no need as her lips hungrily claimed his in a single passionate gesture. Karadoras' breath halted as he was pleasantly surprised, but he nonetheless returned Selesnia's gesture with just as much gusto.

After a good minute of this affectionate gesture on the battlefield, the two broke apart, slightly out of breath as they turned and readied their respective weapons of war. Karadoras' blade glimmered in the light and Selesnia's book flipped open with a smooth motion as the lovers of Noblehearts calmed their hearts and souls. It was time to return home safely, they promised themselves as they roared and charged into the fray.

**Translations: _Dutch- _English**

_Selesnia stop met lezen, we gaan_ -Selesnia stop reading, we're going

_Ik was net zo lekker aan het lezen, nu ben ik kwijt waar ik was_ \- I just got into the story, now I forgot where I was at.

_Waar gaan we naar toe en waarom moet ik mee_\- Where are we going and why do I have to come with you

_Goed, blijf maar hier, lees je boek, het kan me niet meer schelen, ik ben weg_..- Alright, stay here, read your book, I don"t care anymore, I"m out..

_Vaarwel mijn geliefde' denk ik de betere zit_ \- Farewell my love

_Zeg het zelf recht in mijn gezicht_\- Say it to my face yourself


End file.
